President Obama on Iran nuclear agreement: 'It is a good deal'

President Barack Obama
speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington,
Thursday, April 2, 2015, about the breakthrough in the Iranian
nuclear talks.AP/Susan
Walsh

President Barack Obama just gave a speech reacting to the
framework for a nuclear deal with Iran that was reached by
negotiators on Thursday.

"Today, after many months of tough, principled diplomacy, we have
achieved the framework for that deal. And it is a good deal,"
Obama said.

Obama delivered his statement from the Rose Garden where he
described it as an "historic" agreement. He said he is
"convinced" that, if the framework leads to a final agreement,
"it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer."

"This has been a long time coming. The Islamic Republic of Iran
has been advancing its nuclear program for decades," Obama
said.

Here are key highlights from the president's remarks:

He said Iran has
"eliminated its
stockpile of dangerous nuclear material."

Obama said the deal was the
"best option" to address concerns about Iran obtaining a
nuclear weapon because the country had agreed to a
"robust and intrusive
inspections and transparency regime" that ensured it would not
be able to produce a weapon covertly.

According to the president,
the agreement outlined in the framework "shuts down Iran's path to a bomb using
enriched uranium" because Iran will not be permitted to enrich
uranium for ten years.

Obama noted the deal would
include sanctions relief for Iran. However, he specified some
US sanctions would not be lifted and said "sanctions can be snapped back into place"
if Iran violates any agreement.

The negotiations have been
criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Obama
acknowledged this and stressed the US staunchly supports
Israeli security and will work to address its concerns.

Some members of Congress have
also criticized the deal and there have been proposals for
lawmakers to review any agreement. Obama described it as an
"international agreement" that satisfied many key allies and
warned the US would be "blamed" if it is killed. He also said
he will give Congress "oversight" over the agreement.

Obama, who described the framework simply as a "good deal,"
alluded to critics who have been skeptical of the negotiations
when he said they "succeeded exactly as intended."

"Iran has met all of its obligations," Obama said.

Obama said the framework sets
the stage for an agreement that "would cut off every pathway Iran
could take" to a nuclear weapon. He also stressed any final
agreement would include strict measures to verify Iran is
complying.

"Iran has also agreed to the most robust and intrusive
inspections and transparency regime," he said. "This deal was not
based on trust. It's based on unprecedented verification."

The president's statement came soon after negotiators
in Lausanne, Switzerland announced that they had reached a
framework for a deal that would curb Tehran's ability to produce
a nuclear weapon in exchange for the US and other powers rolling
back sanctions against Iran. The negotiations included Iran
and the so-called P5+1 powers, the US, Russia, China, the United
Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Negotiators originally set a deadline of March 31 for a political
framework agreement, but they extended the talks and have spent
much of the week engaged in late night negotiations. Any
deal must be signed by June 30, which was the ultimate deadline
established by the deal that allowed for the talks.

President Obama speaks about the framework agreement on
Iran's nuclear program during a statement in the Rose Garden of
the White House in WashingtonThomson
Reuters

Obama stressed that negotiators merely reached the framework for
a final agreement on Thursday. He noted "key details" of the
agreement "will be finalized over the next couple months." The
president went on to detail some of the specifics of the
framework, which were
also outlined in a fact sheet that was distributed by
the White House.

"Iran will not build a new heavy-water reactor. And Iran will not
reprocess fuel from its existing reactors, ever. Second, this
deal shuts down Iran's path to a bomb using enriched uranium,"
Obama said. "Iran will not enrich Uranium with its advanced
centrifuges for at least 10 years. ... Iran has agreed that it
will not stockpile the materials needed to build a weapon."

Obama described the deal outlined in this framework as "the best
possible defense against Iran's ability to pursue a nuclear
weapon covertly."

"If Iran cheats, the world will know it. If we see something
suspicious, we will inspect it," Obama said. "With this deal,
Iran will face more inspections than any other country in the
world. So, this will be a longterm deal that addresses each path
to a potential Iran nuclear bomb."

Obama also addressed the sanctions relief Iran will get in
exchange for an agreement.

"Iran will never be permitted to develop a nuclear weapon. In
return for Iran's actions. the international community has agreed
to provide Iran relief from certain sanctions," he explained.
"This relief will be phased as Iran takes steps to adhere to the
deal. If Iran violated the deal, sanctions can be snapped back
into place. Meanwhile, other American sanctions against Iran ...
will continue to be fully enforced."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a staunch
critic of a potential nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu has said
an agreement will help Iran's efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Many Republicans have also opposed the deal and there have been
legislative proposals to require any final agreement to be
authorized by US lawmakers.

According to CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Israeli intelligence officials
released a statement shortly after the framework was announced
wherein they criticized the negotiations as "disconnected from
reality." Blitzer described this as the first reaction to the
framework from the Israeli government.

Obama acknowledged both American and Israeli critics of the
negotiations in his statement.

"I welcome a robust debate in the weeks and months to come. I am
confident that we can show this deal is good for the security of
the United States, for our allies, and for the world," Obama
said.

Obama repeatedly referred to the deal as "the best option" to
prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He claimed there
were almost no alternatives apart from a diplomatic solution and
the use of force.

Obama also vowed his administration would "engage Congress" to
ensure they can "play a constructive oversight role." However,
pointing to international involvement in the framework, Obama
warned US lawmakers against killing an agreement.

"This is not simply a deal between my administration and
Iran. This is a deal between Iran, the United States of America,
and the major powers in the world, including some of our closest
allies," Obama said. "If Congress kills this deal, not based on
expert analysis, and without offering any reasonable alternative,
then ... international unity will collapse."

Obama also pointed out former President Ronald Reagan and
President John F. Kennedy reached nuclear agreements with the
Soviet Union, which he described as a more dangerous threat to
national security than Iran.

While specifically addressing Netanyahu's concerns, Obama
stressed the US supports Israel. He said he has "directed" the
White House "national security team to work closely with the new
Israeli government" to address any concerns about a potential
threat from Iran.

"It's no secret that the Israeli prime minister and I disagree,"
Obama said, adding, "This is the best option and I believe our
nuclear experts can confirm that. ... There is no daylight when
it comes to our support for Israel's security."Secretary of State John
Kerry and other foreign ministers take their positions before
making a statement on Iranian nuclear negotiations.AP/Brendan Smialowski,
Pool

Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the US team of
negotiators, spoke from Switzerland after the president. He said
the international community could have "confidence" that Iran's
nuclear program is "exclusively peaceful" if the terms of the
agreement outlined in this framework are "adhered to."

"We will not accept just any deal. ... We will
only accept a good deal. And today I can tell you that the
political understanding with details that we have reached is a
solid foundation for the good deal that we are seeking," Kerry
said. "It is the foundation for a deal that will see Iran reduce
its stockpile of enriched uranium by 90%."

Kerry also noted many elements of the deal do not have an
expiration date.

"There will be no sunset to the deal that we are
working to finalize. No sunset. None. The parameters of this
agreement will be implemented in phases. Some provisions will be
in place for 10 years. Others will be in place for 15 years.
Others still will be in place for 25 years," Kerry said. "But
certain provisions, including many transparency measures, will be
in place indefinitely into the future. They will never expire.
"

Kerry also said there are "provisions" to "deal with" Iran
if it violates the terms of an ultimate agreement.